If you know somebody who loves dogs and loves to craft and wants to combine both of their passions in one, than look no further. Today I have a crafty dog lover’s gift guide for you. My daughter, Roxanne, who loves crafting and knows pretty much everything there is to know about dog breeds, helped…

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I will always love craft books. No matter how much time I spend online watching YouTube videos and reading blogs, there’s nothing like holding a really beautiful craft book in your hands. Books are a great value. For $15-25 you get over a dozen patterns. Think about that! Plus, a book is a peek into…

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When Facebook introduced the ability to livestream in March of 2016 it was hard to predict how crafters would make use of it. The opportunity to engage with fans in real time opened up a whole world of creative potential. Demonstrate techniques, go behind-the-scenes at trade shows and conferences, conduct live interviews – the options…

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I’ve started making puppets. I’m learning to make the muppet kind of puppet with the wide open mouth and I’m slowly making progress. A few weeks ago I had a sort of creative turning point. Although my love for three-dimensional design in fabric hasn’t wavered over the last 13 years, it’s been important to let…

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I don’t watch much television mostly because I don’t have much free time, but I do love short videos. I recently downloaded the YouTube app on my phone and I’ve found myself increasingly turning to it for entertaining informative videos about sewing. Like watching the Food Network, YouTube sewing videos are edutainment and I find…

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In January I had a conversation with Thomas Knauer on the podcast. Thomas is a deep thinker and he’s got some pretty radical things to say about quilting and the industry that’s grown up around it. One of his big ideas is that we should step away from the constant consumerism of quilting – more…

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Last spring I wrote an article about Penny Gold’s quilt, “Self-Portrait, Year 2” for GenerationQ magazine. I continue to be so struck by this quilt and the story behind it that I’m republishing the piece here with the magazine’s and Penny’s permission. “Self-Portrait, Year 2: Beneath the Surface” was one of the most memorable quilts…

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Shotgun shacks in Greenwood, Mississippi. In 1997 I moved from my college apartment in Baltimore to Itta Bena, Mississippi, a town of just over 2,000 people in the heart of the Mississippi Delta. I was there to teach French and social studies at Threadgill Junior High in Greenwood, twenty minutes down the highway. In the…

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Roxanne made me a spoon. In sixth grade here in Wellesley you take Industrial Technology (don’t call it “wood shop” or you’ll be sternly corrected, trust me). The culmination of the class is carving a spoon from a block of wood. I put the spoon to use immediately. The day it came home I stirred…

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On Monday evening I was teaching a class at a local sewing studio. My students were all local moms and they’d come to learn to use their sewing machines. I’ve taught this class twice a month for four years now and I always begin by asking each person to tell the story of their sewing…